Community Chat

[MorningLover]

Houston-area postal workers accused of stealing nearly $24 million in checks

Five people, including three U.S. Postal Service mail carriers, are facing federal charges in an alleged stolen-check operation prosecutors say involved nearly $24 million worth of checks.

A federal grand jury indicted Tryston Tremaine Vaughn, Catherine Clauzelle Kilpatrick, Drakkor Jamar Alexander, Malcolm Tiree Joubert and Alyssa Nadine Bryant.

The indictment, filed Aug. 19 in the Southern District of Texas, accuses the group of participating in a scheme involving checks stolen from the mail and later resold.

Federal prosecutors say the defendants and their co-conspirators acquired and sold approximately $23,973,338.15 in stolen checks.

According to the indictment, Vaughn recruited USPS mail carriers to steal mail, specifically checks, from their routes.

Prosecutors identify Kilpatrick, Alexander and Joubert as the three postal carriers allegedly recruited by Vaughn. Bryant is accused of working with Vaughn to purchase stolen checks from postal employees.

The indictment indicates the operation ran from 2022 to 2024.

[catter70]

Nothing is safe anymore. How  do you know who to trust?

[Kachina624]

That's exactly why I have my bank send all my checks online plus I save on postage.  If something is lost or stolen,  they fix it.

[shoekitty]

@Kachina624   do you know what kind of checks were stolen ?  I know my SS and such are directly deposited.  I thought perhaps it was going to be mandated this year or next, all SS checks be direct deposit?   You wonder how crooks cash them.   Or, the person who cashes them can't eventually be caught. But, no worries, I m sure crooks have it all figured out...til they get caught ...with  one loop hole they thought they had covered.  lol!

[Kachina624]

@shoekitty.  They must have "connections" because most of us would have no clue as to how to set up such an operation.  I'm guessing it's mostly business checks.  That's where the money would be.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@shoekitty wrote:

@Kachina624   do you know what kind of checks were stolen ?  I know my SS, and such are directly deposited. I thought perhaps it was going to be mandated this year ,or next all SS checks be direct deposit?   You wonder how crooks cash them.   or the person who cashes them can't eventually be caught. But, no worries, I m sure crooks hbe it all figured out...til they get caught in the one loop hole they thought they covered.  

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@shoekitty 

I generally believe that many crooks just aren't smart enough to get away with the crimes they commit.   

I'm no expert, but I don't see how you can cash a stolen check and it NOT be traceable to where it was deposited.  

[MorningLover]

The operation was executed through a multi-step conspiracy: 

1. Recruitment on Inside Mail Routes

An outside organizer, identified as Tryston Tremaine Vaughn, targeted and recruited active U.S. Postal Service (USPS) carriers to act as insiders. The three postal carriers indicted in the scheme were: 

• Catherine Clauzelle Kilpatrick

• Drakkor Jamar Alexander

• Malcolm Tiree Joubert

These carriers combed through the mail stream on their specific Houston routes, identifying and physically removing envelopes containing high-value checks. 

2. Upfront Purchasing of Stolen Mail

Once the carriers pocketed the checks, Vaughn and a co-conspirator, Alyssa Nadine Bryant, met with the postal workers to buy the stolen mail directly from them. This provided the postal employees with an immediate payout for their theft.

The stolen checks targeted by the group included high-dollar business and personal accounts drawn from major institutions like Chase, Amegy, and BMO Bank. In one instance, carrier Malcolm Joubert successfully stole a single massive check worth $1,517,875.27. 

Some of the allegedly stolen checks:

• A $9,858.01 check drawn from a Chase account
• A $16,636.54 check drawn from an Amegy account
• A $79,894.60 check drawn from a Citibank account
• A $1,517,875.27 check drawn from a B.M.O. account
• A $25,007.25 check drawn from a Stellar account

3. Black Market Sales via Telegram

After acquiring the physical checks, the ring advertised them to buyers on the encrypted messaging application Telegram. They broadcasted the stolen items to criminal networks through a public channel named "slipsandchips". 

4. Logistics and Distribution

Once a buyer purchased a check from the Telegram channel, the conspirators packaged the physical check and shipped it across the country to the buyer using FedEx. The buyers would then attempt to alter and cash the checks.

All five individuals are facing federal charges in the

Southern District of Texas, including Bank Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, and Theft of Mail Matter by a Postal Employee. 

[shoekitty]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@shoekitty wrote:

@Kachina624   do you know what kind of checks were stolen ?  I know my SS, and such are directly deposited. I thought perhaps it was going to be mandated this year ,or next all SS checks be direct deposit?   You wonder how crooks cash them.   or the person who cashes them can't eventually be caught. But, no worries, I m sure crooks hbe it all figured out...til they get caught in the one loop hole they thought they covered.  

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@shoekitty 

I generally believe that many crooks just aren't smart enough to get away with the crimes they commit.   

I'm no expert, but I don't see how you can cash a stolen check and it NOT be traceable to where it was deposited.  

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@Tinkrbl44   that's true!!  That's why I was wondering. My granddaughter got conned out of a Zelle scam for a lot of money. He acted as a rep from Zelle, she was 24.  They cleaned her acct out in seconds!  The bank actually traced it after fraud case was opened up. It took a few months, but bank actually had the acct #, and record of the amount that he took out of her acct thru zelle.  The bank  turned him into fraud with law enforcement. ..luckily, bank reembursed her for lost money.  It was 3 grand!!! They don't do this as protocol.   In the process, her bank blocked her zelle acct for life. She was so traumatized, she would never  use those money transfer apps again. She learned a hard lesson about fraudsters, scammers and learned how to protect herself better

[shoekitty]

@MorningLover   wow!   That is interesting!  Thank you!  That's a lot of loot they stole. I can't get get over someone woukd have a hard copy check sent in mail for over a million. Holy mother of Bob Dylan!  

[Kachina624]

@MorningLover.  Thanks for the detailed instructions.  I can now get busy making my first million.